Tuesday, 18 May 2010

An erratic mess of desperate embroidery pulls you into Louise Riley’s intense and compelling compositions, built up by layers of fleshy colors and soft textures.
Drawing back the figurative element of her work becomes apparent to reveal surreal narratives with dream like qualities, subjects caught in waking and slumber, or somewhere in between the two; when waking carries with it the symbolism of that nights adventure.
Bodies sprawl over old mattresses which are the canvas for her skin puncturing needle strokes. Her threads corse through these tattered and patterned back- drops, reminiscent of a retro domesticity.

Louise’s 3D body of work is extensive, but her hand writing and media mainly work within the practices of hand and craft work. Her stitching is like the messy brush strokes of an impressionist painter, mixing colors and directions to create a confused yet realistic palette.
Contrasting her chosen materials which generally lean towards the familiar and domestic, Louise’s concept practice is deeply scientific, but it is the science of nature to which she obsesses; molecules, chemicals and reproductive systems.
These themes resonate through ourselves and through her work to a point of normality, as they are present, we may barley notice them at all, because it is the naturalism and emotion of her work that is apparent. So the contrast becomes a partnership with the familiar.
This gives a depth and organic movement to her work and the characters she portrays.

The melancholy under tone to her work, partnered with her romantic and decorative sensibility results in some of the most unique and breathtaking art you will ever see.